Hilton Head Island town leaders held a public meeting on Tuesday night where they explained that the recovery process of the island will take at least several more months.

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Updated: 1:22 PM EDT Oct 19, 2016

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WEBVTT
IGHT OFF.
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HILTON HEAD ISLAND WAS ONE
OF THE HARDEST HIT AREAS
DURING HURRICANE MATTHEW...
AND TONIGHT CITY LEADERS HELD
A PUBLIC MEETING TO TALK ABOUT
THE RECOVERY EFFORT...WHAT'S
BEEN DONE AND WHAT WORK STILL
LIES AHEAD. WJCL'S STEVE
KING WAS AT THAT MEETING- HE
JOINS US NOW FROM HILTON HEAD
ISLAND WITH THE LATEST...
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CITY LEADERS SAY THERE'S
STILL MONTHS OF CLEANUP
AHEAD....BUT SIGNIFICANT
PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE ALREADY.
OFFICIALS TALKED ABOUT
DAMAGED STRUCTURES, DEBRIS AND
THE COST OF THE RECOVERY
PROCESS AT TONIGHT'S MEETING.
TOWN STAFF SAYS OUT OF THE
APPROXIMATELY 19 THOUSAND
STRUCTURES ON THE ISLAND....
MORE THAN 53 HUNDRED HAVE BEEN
INSPECTED. OF THOSE
STRUCTURES....OVER 11 HUNDRED
WERE "SIGNIFICANTL DAMAGED."
SEVERAL TEAMS ARE INSPECTING
THE REMAINING STRUCTURES.
STAFF MEMBERSSAY SO FAR, 50
THOUSAND CUBIC YARDS OF DEBRIS
HAVE BEEN PICKED UP AND TAKEN
TO HONEY HORN. OFFICIALS ARE
STILL TRYING TO DETERMINE
WHETHER THEY'LL SELL THE
DEBRIS TO AN OUTSIDE COMPANY...
OR SEND IT TO A LANDFILL. AT
THE MEETING, TOWN MANAGER
STEVE RILEY SAID THE NATIONAL
HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR
RECENTLY VISITED THE ISLAND...
AND WAS IMPRESSED BY THE
PROGRESS MADE SO FAR.
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"THERE'S A GUY WHO HAS BEEN
AROUND THE WORLD FOR
HURRICANES AND CYCLONES AND HE
EXPRESSED HIS ADMIRATION AND
SURPRISE AT JUST HOW FAR THIS
COMMUNITY HAS COME IN SUCH A
SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.EVERYONE
HERE NEEDS TO BE PROUD OF
WHAT'S BEEN ACCOMPLISHED,"
RIGHT NOW OFFICIALS ARE TRYING
TO DETERMINE IF FEMA WILL BE
ABLE TO REIMBURSE THE TOWN FOR
RECOVERY COSTS. THEY ALSO SAY
THEY WON'T AWARD ANY "NEW"
CONTRACTS FOR CONSTRUCTION,
BUT WILL RESUME SOME PROJECTS
THAT ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY....
LIKE THE PROJECT AT SOUTH
FOREST BEACH.
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TOWN OFFICIALS ALSO SHARED
THAT THE BEACH AND DUNE SYSTEM
APPARENTLY DID ITS JOB DURING
THE STORM...AND KEPT THE STORM
SURGE FROM DAMAGING STRUCTURES.
HOWEVER, AGAIN, THERE'S STILL
THOUSANDS OF STRUCTURES THAT
NEED TO BE INSPECTED. JUST TO
REITERATE, OFFICIALS SAY
BETWEEN THOSE INSPECTIONS AND
DEBRIS CLEANUP, THE RECOVERY
EFFORT HAS JUST BEGUN.
REPORTING LIVE IN THE
LOWCOUNTRY, STEVE KING WJCL 22
NEWS.
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Hilton Head Island town leaders held a public meeting on Tuesday night where they explained that the recovery process of the island will take at least several more months.

Town staff says all beaches are now open and work on the Beach Renourishment Project is expected to resume this week.

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Staff members say out of the 19,688 structures on Hilton Head Island, 5,304 of them have been inspected. They say there are 11 groups of workers inspecting the remaining structures each day but this could take weeks to complete. Right now, there’s 987 structure with 25 percent damage, 115 structures with 50 percent damage, 11 structures with 75 percent damage and 12 structures have been completely destroyed.

Officials also discussed the debris cleanup process on the island. They say there have been aboiut 50,000 cubic yards of debris picked up already. They say it will take months to clean up the remaining debris. They also say all of that debris is being stored at Honey Horn until town staff decides what to do with it.

Town officials are considering transporting the debris to a landfill out of the area or selling it to an outside company. They say with FEMA reimbursement money not guaranteed, this could help pay for the recovery effort.

Town Manager Steve Riley commended the effort of town staff and contractors in the recovery process He says the Director of the National Hurricane Center visited Hilton Head Island on Sunday and was impressed with the cleanup so far.

"There’s a guy who has been around the world for hurricanes and cyclones and he expressed his admiration and surprise at just how far this community has come in such a short period of time. Everyone here needs to be proud of what’s been accomplished," said Riley.

Town officials also say there will soon be a Disaster Recovery Center that opens up in Beaufort County for people to work to get assistance from FEMA or various non-profit organizations. The location of that center has not been announced at this time. Officials also reminded people they can call 211 to possibly get connected to services that could help.

Some City Council members said at the meeting that only essential services should remain operational during the recovery process and that non-essential services should be put on hold. No decision was made at the meeting regarding this matter.

Town officials also reminded people that there will be a Rep. Mark Sanford satellite office in Beaufort County on Thursday to help people get assistance. His staff members will be at the Hilton Head Library on Thursday at 9 a.m., the Bluffton Community Library on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. and the St. Helena Branch Library on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.